Val's Mom Blog: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Pray for Ashley

Many of you know our former neighbor, Ashley Holmertz, who discovered she had bone cancer when she was a vibrant 17-year-old varsity soccer player. Ashley has had her ups and downs, miracles and setbacks, but throughout this journey, Ashley and her family--especially her mother Judy--have never wavered in their faith. Now Ashley's fight has reached a critical point, and unless the Lord intervenes (which He has done before), Ashley will go home to be with Him.

I've attached a portion of her mother's email update below so that you will know how to pray. Here's a link that tells a brief version of Ashley's story. It's from the website of the foundation she and her family established to help others who are facing cancer: http://ashleyshand.org/story.html

July 30, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,

I write to you with heavy heart because of our news last week. As I watch Ashley walk today, my heart fills with sadness and memories. Her walk is so different than when she ran down fields of green to place the ball into the net or assist a teammate. Her nickname was “The Force!” Rightly named because of her intense determination to make it to the goal no matter what or whom she plowed down in the process.

Today, Ashley is running a race for her life. The PET-CT reports last week show very advanced tumors (new ones) in her body in the sacrum area. We were shocked that so much had changed in only 7 weeks. Vanderbilt doctors and Hospice have given a limited time for Ashley to be with us. BUT the final WORD comes from our heavenly Father – God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, healer of our souls and body. God gently reminds me that she was His daughter first. And He loves her even more than I do. He has a plan…

Right now, Ashley wants to fight. So to honor her wishes, we turn to the Oasis of Hope Cancer Hospital in Tijuana, Baja California. (Her doctors at MD Anderson and Vanderbilt have run out of options.) We have visited Oasis of Hope twice, so we know and trust its oncologists. They feel they have some new treatments to offer. They do not promise a cure, but feel that their plan coupled with Ashley’s hope can go a long way, especially when the Lord is in it. I agree. However, our insurance will not cover the approximately $30,000 for the 24 days of treatment. We ask that you pray diligently for God to provide the money for Ashley to go. Allison, her sister, will be traveling with her so that I can have surgery for my breast cancer which is scheduled August 14th.

Any donations may be mailed to:
Judson Baptist Church
4900 Franklin Road
Nashville, TN 37220
(Make checks payable to Judson Baptist and memo for Ashley Fund.)
If Ashley is unable to go due to health or available funds, donations will go toward hospice care and to create a special memory with family.

Please continue to pray for God’s healing miracle in Ashley’s life. I hold closely the verse in Hebrews 10:35, “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” God is a rewarder of those who believe and do not doubt.

As always, thanking God for you,
Judy

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ladies Who Lunch

Doesn't Presley just look like one of those "ladies of leisure" who spend their afternoons playing tennis and lunching with friends. Love that she has her shades on and her cell phone at the ready!

Reagan's Neverland Party

Here are a few pics from Reagan's 5th birthday party. The theme was Neverland, and all guests were sprinkled with pixie dust upon arrival. We made a craft, opened gifts from family, and ate cake and drank punch.

Reagan requested no gifts from her friends, since she got plenty from her family members. Instead, if guests wished to contribute, we had a donation jar for the Haiti Starfish program our church sponsors, which provides school lunches for children in Haiti. With what we've collected so far, we can feed two kids for the entire year!

Here are a few pics from the party:

Wendy & Tink

The cake, made by Mama, had beads to make it sparkle!

All the kiddos in their costumes

Opening her gifts

5th Birthday in Neverland

Reagan had a Neverland party on Saturday. She, of course, was Tinkerbell (along with most of her other little girl friends) and Presley was Wendy. We also had a Lost Boy and Peter Pan present, along with miscellaneous fairies. Here are a few pics:

Mama made the cake, and added a few beads for sparkle

Tink

All the kids in costume

The girls at the craft table

Reagan with her two true loves, Curry (Lost Boy) and Tyler (Peter Pan)

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Girl with the Curl

There was a little girl who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good, she was very good.

And when she was bad, she was horrid.

That pretty much sums up our sweet Presley. . . she can turn on you in a second! But she sure is cute, isn't she?

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Allergy Warning

Today Reagan was making all sorts of "food" for me with homemade play dough. After a burger and some fries, she asked if I would like some cookies. I said, "Sure." She replied: "They have tree nuts in them. All of my cookies are processed with tree nuts." Her exact words.

Now, this might not seem so unusual, except that Reagan is allergic to certain tree nuts, and we've cautioned her on eating foods that don't necessarily contain tree nuts but might be processed on equipment that also processes tree nuts. In fact, she didn't get to have a cookie from the Fresh Market last week because all their cookies are processed on shared equipment with those that contain tree nuts.

My point is, she's learning! And she's using that knowledge in role play, which will serve her well in a situation where she really should avoid certain foods. Wow, sometimes she just seems so grown up!

Sticky Situation

I meant to blog about this a couple of weeks ago when it happened, but I got busy and forgot.

One afternoon, I was letting the girls watch a DVD and "rest" while I did some work on my computer. They were being pretty quiet/calm, so I must have relaxed a bit and stopped paying attention to them. A few minutes later, Presley came over to me with her finger up her nose and said, "Ticker." I took that to mean that perhaps she had a "bat in the cave," so to speak, so I did what any other mother would do: stuck my pinky nail up her nose to try to get it out. Only when I did, I felt something hard up the canal of her nose. That's when I realized what she was trying to tell me--that she had put a sticker up her nose.

So...I took her to the bedroom and got her horizontal on the bed. With a trusty flashlight in hand, I instructed her to close her eyes--didn't want to blind her in the process. I could see that the sticker was indeed in her nose, and quite a ways up there. I fetched the tweezers and made a valiant effort before realizing I might hurt her, since I didn't know what I was doing. I resigned myself to calling the pediatrician who, no doubt, was experienced at extracting foreign objects from the noses of preschoolers.

We were in danger of being late for Reagan's dance camp, so I figured I'd drop her off on the way to the doc. I had dialed the phone and was waiting to push 2 to talk to a nurse, when Presley stood before me and sneezed loudly. Out came the sticker! Woohoo! Trip to the pediatrician and a $25 co-pay averted (not to mention much embarrassment for being the parent of "that kid who put the sticker up her nose").

My Little Helper

I just love the fact that I can ask Reagan, "Does Presley have a stinky diaper?" and she will sniff her for me and answer with authority one of three ways: (1) "Yes," (2) "No," or (3) "No, but she pee-peed." That is a service I would gladly pay money for, but am lucky enough to get free from a four-year-old.

Indy

We took a quick trip to Indy over the holiday weekend. First, my parents (along with Scott and I) took the kids to the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

Getting in costume for the bluescreen show.

In a giant Dino-nest.

Water play in the exhibit sponsored by Indiana native David Letterman.

Afterward, they took the kids home with them and Scott and I stayed in Indy for the night. We stayed at the Canterbury Hotel downtown in the Circle Center. We actually had access to the mall directly from our hotel. We were also next door the the famous St. Elmo Steak House and within walking distance to dozens of restaurants. Just a few blocks away was Indy's landmark Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

On the way out of town, we stopped to take a few (dozen) pictures of the new Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts will play next year. As you can see, it dwarfs the current stadium. Pretty impressive.